Invited to fundraising event for Ambassador Christopher Stevens Memorial Fund in Middle Eastern Studies at the International House, UC Berkeley… felt so nostalgic to be here as nothing’s changed. I was that girl in the cafe studying way back when. Memories … I love this place. No I did not know Chris personally – invited through my sister who could not attend … rather distant but he’s an Oski too and returning to my alma mater gives me the thrill each time. It’s the energy of the place where anything and everything was possible and all the potentials were still untapped.
I hope the funds will help foster better understanding between this country and the countries in that region of the world so this kind of tragedy does not happen again. Violence is not the way to solve problems – peace and understanding based on mutual respect is… so hope the fund will get more American students interested in studying about this region. I know it’s weird but I actually spent maybe 3-4 years of my childhood in Teheran, Iran. I have some fond memories – childhood memories – then we returned to Japan – and my childhood memories continues with fond memories in Tokyo, especially because of my grandparents who – bless their souls – were very loving. I know – it’s weird but this world is not as divisive as it may appear – it’s all interconnected.
I put this post up because I wanted to share the group that catered this event with the yummy food pictured above …
There were some meat options such as chicken and I think maybe beef but I have no photos of them as I do not eat them. The other plates featured above were more than plenty. In case you live in the East Bay and have a gathering you can use help on, this feast was catered by a group of ladies calling themselves:
Women’s CooP Catering
“Empowering Middle Eastern Women One Event At a Time”
Mufadhella Al Badeh, Founder
Women.coop.catering@gmail.com
